There Will Be No Ramadan And Gawai Bazaars In Sarawak This Year Due To COVID-19

Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg has announced that there will be no Ramadan and Gawai bazaars in the state this year due to the deadly coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic affecting the country

"The state government has made the decision not to allow Ramadan bazaars," Johari said during a press conference held in Miri today, 5 April, according to a report in The Borneo Post.

"We will not have Ramadan bazaars this year as well as Gawai bazaars, because these two (events) are held one after another. We do not want to risk the community's safety and at the same time, we must practice the current guidelines. We can have these bazaars next time when the outbreak is over."

Emphasising on the safety of Sarawakians, Johari said that traders look into e-commerce methods to sell their products as an alternative

"I am confident that e-bazaars will meet the demand from customers during Ramadan and Gawai. I have encouraged the usage of technology and here in Miri we have a place called Tegas (Digital Innovation Hub) where they can learn as to how to use technology for online sales," he was quoted as saying.

He said that those who are not technology-savvy can learn through small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which are available in the state's big cities Miri, Sibu, and also Kuching.

Prior to this, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said that there will be no Ramadan bazaars in Malaysia throughout the Movement Control Order (MCO) period, scheduled to end on 14 April: